According to the preliminary result, the candidate Ben Schwarz, who is supported by the SPD and the Greens, narrowly missed out on an absolute majority in the district elections in the central Franconian district of Roth. Black received 49.41 percent of the vote. This was announced by the district office on Sunday evening on its website. In second place was the CSU candidate Jochen Münch, who achieved 27.09 percent. The official final result is expected to be announced on Tuesday, as a spokeswoman for the district office said.
If the preliminary numbers are confirmed, there will be a runoff in two weeks. Free voter candidate Helmut Bauz landed in third place with 23.5 percent of the votes and is therefore out of the running. This marks the first change in the district office in 30 years. The predecessor Herbert Eckstein (SPD), who had been in office since 1993, had given up the post prematurely for health reasons. The 67-year-old’s deputy has been running the business since April. According to Bavarian local electoral law, the candidate who receives more than half of the votes is elected. If all candidates remain below the 50 percent mark in the first ballot, there is a runoff between the two first-placed candidates on the second Sunday after the election day.